That’s right, kids. July 4th is just around the corner, so I’m dipping. Strawberries, that is. Honestly, is anything better than a dipped strawberry?

Don’t answer that question. Instead, think about how beautiful these will be at your holiday celebration, and how fancy they look. Especially think about how little time they take to make! About .02 seconds, really.

Have I mentioned that headlines are getting scarier? They really are. And through them all, I see one constant theme: fear.

People are afraid of the unfamiliar. When that happens, they can respond in one of two ways: they can educate themselves and get a realistic handle on the way things work, or they can hate without reason. Sadly, the masses often choose hate instead of understanding.

I realize that July 4th is, as I mentioned earlier, a low-key holiday that’s mainly meant to be fun. But this year, I feel as though it’s a much more thought-provoking day. The concept of having rights and freedoms only works if we use our privileges for good and not evil. Lately, some people have used the concepts our country was built upon as an excuse to exclude, or to hurt others. It’s unbelievably sad.

Rather than use the holiday as an excuse to get political, I just want to use it as a chance at introspection. Let’s really take some time and think about how we view our role in the world. Do we want to be the country that is known for increasingly frequent mass shootings? That gets into the habit of seeing a mythical past (which was actually quite full of racism) as a time when America was supposedly “great?” That sets a standard of fear for anyone who might not be a falsely construed prototype of an American?

This July 4th, I want to spend some time thinking about what’s been happening in our increasingly vitriolic and angry nation, and try to generate some hope that things will turn around soon.

I will also eat dipped strawberries, of course.

When people make dipped treats, they often use Candiquik or candy melts. That’s a fast way to operate, but I prefer to use real chocolate. It tastes better. So for these, I melted Ghirardelli white chocolate chips with some canola oil, dipped the strawberries, and covered them with patriotic sprinkles. It’s fast, easy, and totally delicious. It’s also pretty healthy!

As we approach our nation’s biggest patriotic holiday, I hope we all have a lot of fun. But I also hope we think about the way we should be living and treating others, because that’s a lot more important than anything else — even dessert.

About two months ago, I spied patriotic M & Ms at Target. So I bought them, hid them from Kenny, and forgot about them. Until today. If you want a bar that’s as close as possible to white to set off the glory of these holiday-themed M & Ms, this white chocolate base is perfect. It has the consistency of a brownie but it’s made with white chocolate. Holy stars and stripes forever!

After spending part of last week in Lancaster doing summer things, I’ve also switched into my warm-weather wardrobe. All I need to do is find more petite maxi dresses. Do you know how hard it is to find those? Needles in haystacks, my friends.

Maxi dresses are gorgeous, comfy, and great alternative for those of us who aren’t crazy about putting aging thighs on display in shorts. The problem with them is (tall girls, feel free to read ahead) that they’re all made for people who are at least 5 foot 6, usually more. I know that because as a regular wearer of three-inch heels, the regular maxi dresses still drag on the ground a bit. I’m five foot two.

The same problem exists with pants, but to a lesser degree. Plus, I don’t find pants to be as appealing as loose, flowy maxi dresses. Especially not when it’s 90-plus degrees out. So here’s my plea to all clothing stores: please, in the name of all that’s summery and fresh and cool, make more maxi dresses for short women. You’ll be glad to not see our pasty legs. I promise.

While I don’t aim for pale white legs in the summer, I do like white when it’s in chocolate. Then it’s fine. Was that segue a bit rough for you? Well, I tried.

These bars are thick and fudgy in that white chocolate kinda way. They’re very simple to make: all you do is (carefully) melt white chocolate with butter in the microwave, mix in a few other ingredients, stir in the M & Ms, and bake. It’s that simple. As simple as throwing on a maxi dress.

Well, almost as simple. Over my time as a baking blogger, I’ve come to realize that simplicity is the first thing I look for in desserts. Baking desserts is a labor of love, and love shouldn’t be hard. Every now and then, it’s okay to spend a lot of time on something. But as a rule? Nope.

And fashion is the same. Basics can be best, as long as they have a bit of funk or flair. My maxi dresses work great as long as they don’t drag on the floor and have a bit of fun detail. And these M & Ms add just the right detail, and flair, to these simple bars.